Scott Harmsen / Kalamazoo GazetteTerry Frith, of Richland, congratulates and cheers runners as they cross the finish line of the Kalamazoo Marathon.

I have a tough time buying all the positive mumbo jumbo regarding certain things in the Kalamazoo/Portage area.

Many people won't speak up (or maybe are not allowed to) but the truth to this and many things are not as they appear.

A prime example of this is the Kalamazoo marathon. I thought the event was a disaster.

Complete traffic chaos downtown and a huge city expenditure for policing at every intersection. This event frustrated most Kalamazoo constituents. I saw many frustrated motorists and spoke with many frustrated homeowners.

This event was a huge waste of city funds. As a community we need to take a second to look at the impact of things such as this and be more vocal about how we feel.